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Pernod Ricard Winemakers have invested in the development and integration of the world’s first Autonomous Vineyard Tractors (AVTs), working directly with Smart Machine to customise their Oxin AVTs to suit the specific needs of our Marlborough vineyards.

These cutting-edge Oxin AVTs promise to revolutionise the viticulture and agriculture landscapes across New Zealand.by enabling greater vineyard efficiencies and addressing the challenges posed by the ongoing labour shortages the wine industry has experienced since the pandemic.

The Oxin AVT was specifically tailored to target labour-intensive tasks such as mowing, mulching, and defoliating, providing an ongoing sustainable solution.

Pernod Ricard Winemakers has recently integrated two Oxin AVTs into Hawke’s Bay and will continue to invest in custom innovation with Smart Machine, ensuring this new capability can be leveraged for the region, and for other growers.

David Allen, Viticulture Transformation Manager at Pernod Ricard Winemakers says, “We’re proud of our continued investment in this technology and seeing first-hand how it can revolutionise the viticulture landscape.

“It has been a truly collaborative experience, and I’m excited to see how the machines can continue to be adapted for other growers and industries.

“In just two weeks, we were able to complete all the required block mapping, network set up and operator training, ready for the arrival of the Oxin AVTs at our Matapiro Vineyard – a large and fairly remote Hawke’s Bay vineyard,” Allen said.

Kate Lattey, Transformation Director at Pernod Ricard Winemakers says, “Sustainability is at the forefront for Pernod Ricard, and we are always looking at ways to reduce our impact on the soil and our carbon footprint. From the beginning, we discussed how many tasks could be done simultaneously in a single pass. The more tasks we can do at once, the less time the machine has to travel up and down the rows.

“This capability and our ongoing investment in the Oxin AVTs directly supports our company-wide focus on Nurturing Terroir – one of the four pillars within the Pernod Ricard Sustainability and Responsibility Roadmap.

“We’re now looking at how to optimise use of the AVTs across our business operations, as well as introducing smaller, fully electric machines. We’re also working on converting the AVTs to green energy and expect the first green energy prototype to be built in 2024,” confirmed Lattey.

For more, visit OXIN – Autonomous Viticulture Robot Tractor